SABREWULF hailing from El Paso, Texas were formed in 2011. They play a mix of different styles including Black/Death/Thrash and Power Metal. Prior to "Mala Suerte", they released one EP, a demo, and a full-length album (2016). "Mala Suerte" was released via Dutch label Petrichor Records which is part of Hammerheart Records. Albert on bass joined the band after the recordings. "Mala Suerte" has a total length of approximately 32 minutes.

After a short dark intro, SABREWULF get down to business: half an hour of bone-crushing guitars, hammering drums, and aggressive vocals. The sound on "Mala Suerte" is raw and brutal, the guitars remind on early Swedish Death Metal releases, and the vocal style is slightly influenced by Hardcore. "Grave Of Pestilence" shows the direction of the album: variations in speed throughout, crushing guitar riffs, and brutal growls and screams. The constant changes in rhythm continue on "Warbreeder" and "Bottom Dweler". Both songs include slow parts during the second half of the songs that sound dark and gloomy and contain lead guitar sequences that fit perfectly into the doom-laden approach.

"Final Prayer" is a song that consists of very slow and dark parts that explodes into chaotic sequences of screams, blast beats, and flesh-ripping guitars. The female vocals of Sabrina James create a unique and chilling atmosphere throughout the song and is a welcome change in sound on the album. "Inverted Faith" and "Ritual Skin" are both straightforward songs, kept mid-tempo for most of the time. "Ritual Skin", however, has similar patterns as a few songs on "Mala Suerte" where tempo is slowed down and gloomy guitar sequences take over.

"Marked For Death" is, beside "Final Prayer" one of my favorite song on "Mala Suerte". The crushing guitar riffs are here nicely combined with short lead sequences. Although there are tempo changes throughout, "Marked For Death" includes a few, almost catchy, head-banging parts. The title song is also the finale of "Mala Suerte". It is with more than 7 minutes by far the longest song of the album. The song structure is very different compared to the other songs of the album. It is dominated by very slow and dark atmospheric parts that are interrupted by bursts of chaotic guitar riffs and bloodcurdling screams, eventually resolving into a slow and stomping rhythm until the end of the album. SABREWULF did not release an official video yet, but the band uploaded a few songs on YouTube. The link for the title song is given below.

SABREWULF deliver a very good Death Metal album. It is influenced by classic Swedish Death Metal bands such as ENTOMBED or DISMEMBER, but has its own identity, style, and sound. The sound on "Mala Suerte" is very much dominated by crunching guitar riffs, a dark atmosphere, and brutal growls and screams. "Mala Suerte" is not an album of blisteringly fast rhythms, one of the strengths of SABREWULF is their understanding of perfectly mixing tempo throughout songs to enhance darkness and rawness of their sound. The production of the album might have been better. I would have liked to hear especially the vocals but also drums clearer. However, "Mala Suerte" will have their share of fans and rightly so. SABREWULF is surely a band to watch in the future.